Second Chances
by Helenaist101
Summary: When Sweeney Todd wakes up one morning he is surrounded by a blur of confusion, he was sure that he was killed last night. And when he travels downstairs to be greeted by a very alive Nellie Lovett things become even more confusing. Was it all a dream? Or is this something completely different? Read and find out. Afterlife fic. Sweenett and brief Sweeney/Lucy.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hey guys! This is my first Sweeney Todd fanfiction. The idea came to me in a dream, literally. So I hope you guys enjoy where my mind tends to go! Please review so I know if it's at least half decent! :)**

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His eyes snapped open and were immediately clouded with a heightened sense of confusion. He glanced around the room, slowly getting up from the small bed her slept in his shop. He slowly walked around the room, running a hand over the walls, the window sill, everything he could touch, wondering how it was possible to be still here. He thought… no, he had no idea what had happened. He made his way down stairs and into Mrs Lovett's shop and there she was, cleaning the benches as if nothing was wrong.

Mrs Lovett looked up and jumped slightly as she saw him, "Oh, Mr T, you startled me!" she paused and studied his face intently, "Is something wrong?"

"Why are you here? You should be dead…" He whispered, making his way closer to the woman who he swore he killed only hours ago.

Mrs Lovett looked shocked and slightly scared at such a question, but she stood firm, she wasn't afraid of him anymore, nor was she ever. "What are you talking about, Mr Todd? I'm alive and plan to be for a long while."

"I should be dead…" Mr Todd replied, bringing a hand up to his throat and slowly running his fingers along the slit that should have been there, but alas, there was nothing.

"Mr T, you're not making sense." Mrs Lovett on the other hand, barely had any confusion about their situation, she knew what had happened. "You must have had a bad dream. Come on, love. I'll get you some gin"

She carefully took his arm and pulled him over to one of the seats around the store. She went into her room and got out a bottle. Glancing in the mirror she took a deep breath, she wanted another chance, for things to go right this time. She nodded at her reflection and put on a small smile before heading back out to Sweeney and pouring him a glass of gin.

"Now, no more of this silly talk, we have business to get on with…" she walked back to the counter and started sorting out her equipment before taking a glance out the window and seeing the one person she hoped she would never see again. Across the street was Lucy. Back to her former glory, her light pink dress was glowing in the glum of the streets and her wavy blonde hair falling down her back. Mr Todd caught Mrs Lovett's eye line and turned to look at what she was looking at. Before Nellie could think twice, Sweeney stood up, his mouth open in shock at the sight of Lucy. Just as she used to be.

Without a thought he stumbled out of the store and across the street. He paused right in front of his blonde beauty and stared at her in shock and awe. She could only look back at him with her blue eyes.

"Benjamin…" she said softly, her eyes glistening with tears as the two of them embraced.

Mrs Lovett, still stuck to her spot in the shop watched the exchange, tears coming to her eyes straight away. This wasn't going how she planned, she'd hoped that Lucy wouldn't be here. She wanted Sweeney to herself once and for all, without any interferences from anyone else. She made her way closer to the window, placing a hand on the glass as she let one small tear slide down her cheek.

Sweeney began to walk back over to the shop, Lucy on his arm and with the happiest smile Mrs Lovett had seen from him for 16 years. She took a step back and watched them walk into the store.

"Mrs Lovett, would you care to get Lucy a pie." He said simply, sitting down with her on a table. Nellie stood there, unmoving before meeting Lucy's gaze. Nellie felt the hate for the woman build up inside her; she had always been envious of Lucy all those years ago, marrying the man she had been in love with for so many years. Lucy caught the look in her eyes and tried to give her a small smile.

"It would be much appreciated, Nellie…" she said, her voice shaking but still soft and gentle.

"It's Mrs Lovett to you" Nellie replied before turning away and getting the pair their pies and quickly going into her small room.

She fell onto the couch in a mess, her eyes again welled up with tears. Covering her face she started to cry. The love she felt for the man just outside was unbearable and to know that it would never be returned crushed her inside. The last time she had told him she loved him it had been under bad terms, very bad and he had ended up pushing her into the furnace.

She glanced up quickly when she heard the creaking of the floor boards near the entrance to her room. She quickly wiped her eyes and sat back as if nothing was wrong. Lucy walked into the room, carefully taking a seat beside Nellie.

"I'm sorry… I know you…"

"No, you don't get to speak. You ruined everything" Nellie replied, cutting her off and looking over to the other woman with such anger and hate in her eyes.

"Nell… Mrs Lovett, I've been waiting for him for 15 years. This could be my second chance. Please, you have to understand." Lucy said gently, in truth Nellie and Lucy had been friends as children, always playing together in the gardens around town. They're parents being friends, but as they grew older both of their affections turned to one man, Benjamin Barker. And their friendship split.

"I've loved him just as long as you, he would have been mine if you had left well enough alone! He's not Benjamin Barker anymore, Lucy, he's not the man you fell in love with. He's Sweeney Todd now, and he's mine" Mrs Lovett hissed, getting up and walking away from Lucy.

"I don't want to hurt you, I never did but he still loves me… If you truly loved him, Nellie, you would let him go." Lucy said before standing and making her way back to the store.

Mrs Lovett let Lucy's words go through her. True, she loved that man but she would never give him up that easily, no matter how much she loved him. She wanted him, she had for many, many years and this time, she was going to get him. She was going to win.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hello again! I would just like to say thank you all for the follows and favorites and a special mention to my only reviewer thelovelyflorencelovett, it meant a lot. This chapter is dedicated to you :) I hope you enjoy and remember to review! 3**

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The next morning Sweeney woke up with his Lucy in his arms, a smile spread across his face as he held her tightly. He was more then content to lay there with her, but he had business to attend to, he placed a small kiss on Lucy's head and made his way down to the pie store. Nellie had yet to rise from her slumber so Sweeney made his way to her room and looked in. Sure enough there she was, asleep on the couch with a book open on her lap. As he looked at her he still couldn't shake the feeling that this wasn't right, that something was wrong.

Nellie surely sensed his presence her eyes slowly fluttering open and looking at him. A small smile formed on her lips and she sat up gently, "Mr Todd, what are you doing in here?" she asked, her voice tired and hoarse from crying the night before.

"I wanted to discuss the business plans with you. Wouldn't want you going out of business now, would we?" Sweeney said, his voice back to the dark sinister tone that Mrs Lovett had come to love.

"You mean you want to go on as we were?" Nellie said, unable to help the hope rise in her voice.

"That I do, Mrs Lovett and I hope you don't mind if my Lucy stays here for a while…" He said, walking around the room slowly, his eyes never leaving her face in the process. Mrs Lovett upon picking that up tried to conceal her emotions, putting on a kind smile despite her dislike of Lucy staying in the same house.

"You could surely call me Nellie by now, Mr T. Lucy on the other hand, will have to help around the place, can't be having dead weight around eating me food and not contributing" Nellie said, getting up and walking to the mirror. She fixed up her hair, looking at Mr Todd's reflection staring at her in the mirror.

"Of course not, _Nellie_. Lucy will help me in my shop and I'm sure Toby could help you around down here." Sweeney said, glancing around. He did wonder where the boy was, usually he'd be hanging around Mrs Lovett like a bad smell yet he was nowhere to be found.

"Oh, Toby isn't around no longer, Mr T, you would have noticed that." She replied sadly. She would give anything to have the boy back with her, she had grown so fond of him but this was no place for him, not yet anyway.

Sweeney nodded, "I did notice, where did you send the boy?"

"Back to the workhouse" lied Nellie with great ease, she didn't want Sweeney to get suspicious of their whereabouts or what was going on.

"Right. Well, I must get back to Lucy…" he said, watching her for a long moment before turning and walking out the door again. Nellie stayed where she was wondering to herself what a strange occurrence this little chat was. Mr Todd had never spoken to her with such interest and civility as he had just then. Back in the "other world" he'd always been preoccupied, only half listening and barely responding. It was a nice change, she had to admit and she only hoped that he was coming to appreciate her more.

Mrs Lovett quickly changed her dress and walked out to the store, opening the doors and descending the stairs to the bakehouse below. To her pleasant surprise the left over from before were still in the grinder. Nellie started humming to herself as she began to grind up the meat and put it in a bowl, walking back upstairs to start making her pies. By this point in time, Nellie was very practised at this and it only took her two hours to finish three dozen pies. She flopped down on one of the benches with a glass of wine, a speciality that they'd only been able to afford in the recent months of the business.

Closing her eyes Mrs Lovett again let her mind drift to Sweeney and what their life would have been like here, had not Lucy shown up. It certainly wasn't like she dreamed once, the two of them down by the sea, married and their adopted son, Toby. No, that was near impossible now. Their life would be much like it was, only she believed she could have made Mr T fall in love with her, not nearly as much as she loved him, but enough to suffice. She even dreamed of having her own child, a son or daughter to teach, to love. Nellie always dreamed of having children, but she had never wanted them with her dear deceased husband.

Opening her eyes she took a breath and shook her head, the thoughts both troubled her and gave her immense pleasure at the same time. Even though she knew that nothing could ever be, she could imagine it, as if it were real and for the moment that was enough for her. Although, her determination on getting Sweeney back, and Lucy out the way was still very much present.

She decided to make her way upstairs to visit Mr Todd and Lucy, of course not Lucy intentionally. She opened the door just in time to see one of Sweeney's first costumers here fall down the shoot and into the bakehouse. Her jaw dropped out of shock as she stared at Sweeney wiping the blood off the razor. Her eyes drifted to a very pale and shaking Lucy sitting in the corner of the room.

"I didn't know you started already, Mr Todd…" Nellie said, tearing her eyes away from Lucy and back to Mr Todd.

"Wouldn't want the either of us to go out of business, would I?" Sweeney replied, placing the razor back in the case and closing it with a tender gentleness.

"Course not" her eyes drifted back to Lucy and she made a small nod towards her, "Your Lucy doesn't seem to be taking it well"

Sweeney glanced up, not even remembering that Lucy had been in the room and quickly made his way over to her. She flinched as he approached and inched away from him, at this Nellie couldn't help but smirk to herself. Lucy's reaction was perfect, she was to kind a soul to accept the murdering of "innocent" people.

"I… I remember that there was an awful smell coming from your chimneys…" Lucy muttered. It was then that both Nellie and Sweeney realised that Lucy did not remember anything from the past 16 years. Not that she was a beggar woman in the streets, an escapee from Bedlam. Not that there were suspicious things going on at Mrs Lovett's Pie Store. And not even her tragic encounter with the great Judge Turpin.

"It's alright, my love. There is nothing to fear. He was a bad man, he deserved to die" Mr Todd said plainly, still believing that everyone in London deserved to die, yet only saying it to comfort his wife.

"There was something wrong…" She muttered, her eyes frantically shifting around the room, her memories were a blur to her but they were becoming clearer. She looked at Nellie and pleaded with her eyes to tell her what had happened.

Nellie saw that look and without a second thought existed the room to leave that mess up to Mr T. She made her way back down stairs and sculled the rest of her glass of wine before grabbing one of her few books and completely immersing herself in the words and story.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: A quick update this time! :D Thank you to and Julia-Caesar for your reviews in such a short time. By they way hello Julia *waves* ;) Without further ado I give you... *spoilers* Judge Turpin.**

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Business in the store had gone pretty well for the first week. Mrs Lovett had enough mean in the bakehouse to last a good while without the need to kill more people. Over time Lucy calmed down, even though she was still confused and kept insisting that there had always been something wrong with the store. She hadn't regained anymore of her memory though, which Sweeney was more than happy with. He had his Lucy back, his old Lucy, before anything bad had happened to her. Over the course of the week Sweeney had barely let her out of his sight, keeping one watchful eye over her, or leaving her under the strict care of Mrs Lovett.

Finally, Sweeney had let his hold on Lucy waver, letting her leave the store and go into town alone. Lucy took immense pleasure in this, for some reason she felt that being kept locked away was suffocating. She felt her place was out on the streets, free. So, today via Mrs Lovett's direction she was going into town to get some herbs. She carefully pulled her shawl over her shoulders and picked up her basket before walking down the stairs, a massive smile on her face. As she walked to the shops she waved to a few people she vaguely recognised from years ago. Once she got to town she spent some time just walking around, browsing through the little stalls in the square.

She made her way over to the herbs stall, purchasing some chives, rosemary and more. She smiled kindly at the stall owner, handing over the money and turning away when she caught sight of a man. She knew from the moment she layed eyes on him that he was an awful man, someone capable of truly dreadful things. His back was turned to her, but not for long, he turned and his eye caught Lucy's immediately. He looked shocked, as if he had seen a ghost. But for Lucy it was different, suddenly her memories came back, all the ones connecting to Judge Turpin.

Her basket dropped to the ground, and she started shaking. She knew what he did to her, she knew that she had tried to kill herself, that he had taken her daughter away from her and sent her to Bedlam. The influx of sudden memories made her mind go into a complete frenzy and she ran back as quickly as she could to the store. As soon as she entered the store she sunk to the ground and began sobbing, heart wrenching, terrified sobs. She rocked herself gently, not realising that a very surprised Mrs Lovett was standing above her in bewilderment.

"Lucy, love, what happened?" she asked with the fake sinceiry she had finally perfected.

"The Judge… The Judge… Bedlam…" was all Lucy got out between sobs. Nellie could hear her tone go back to the crazed, desperate woman she had been in the streets. She bent down next to Lucy and put a hand on her arm, Lucy immediately pulled away her eyes snapping up. The normal calm gentle blue was now crazed and frantically looking around the room for escape. She caught Nellies eye and her eyes widened ever more.

"You! You're the devils wife! Cooking people up in pies you did! I remember the smell from your chimneys!" Lucy screeched, pointing an accusing finger at Mrs Lovett.

Within two seconds the women were joined by a very concerned and confused Mr Todd. He glanced at Nellie on the floor next to Lucy and with a sneer said, "What did you do?"

"I did nothing, Mr T, I swear. She came in here like this. She was saying something about the Judge." Nellie said, the tone in his voice bringing back the fear she had just before she was killed.

"Lucy, my love, my darling. What happened?" Sweeney asked gently, inching towards her carefully.

"No!" she screamed and jumped away from him, "You're a murderer! Her accomplice! You killed people, you _kill _people!" And without another word, only a horrified look towards Nellie did Lucy run out of the store. Nellie and Sweeney watched her run down the street in a complete frenzy.

"Mr Todd, are you not going after her?" Mrs Lovett ask, standing and walking to him.

"What happened…?" Sweeney muttered, still kneeling on the ground, his brow furrowed in confusion.

"I don't know. But you can't let run around the streets like a crazy woman, and saying that is a lot coming from me, Mr T" Nellie replied, putting a hand on his shoulder gently.

"You're right…" He stood up, glancing at Nellie's hand and took it in his own. "Thank you." He gently kissed it before running out of the shop calling after Lucy.

Mrs Lovett once again stood there in shock, watching him until he could no longer be seen. She glanced down at the hand that he kissed with a small smile, she could feel her heart racing. She touched her cheek and sure enough she was burning, she half skipped to her room. She was in a much better mood now then she had been in a long while. But, knowing herself well she was looking far too deep into Mr Todd's actions. He was confused, that's probably why he did it, but what if it meant more. Nellie laughed to herself as she went back out into the store just in time to hear one of Lucy's blood curdling screams from down the road.

"No! Get away from me, murderer!" she screamed, Nellie's eyes widened. There was no way that Lucy was going to blow their cover, it would ruin their business and their lives.

Mrs Lovett ran out the store and down the street towards the screams that were still continuing. She came to the sight of Mr Todd trying to hold onto Lucy with many bystanders worried and suspicious of the situation. Nellie took one look around before moving closer to the couple and speaking to Lucy in a low sing song voice,

"Nothings gonna harm you, not while I'm around…"

Lucy's screams quietened as she looked and listened to Mrs Lovett, her eyes still wide with fear and confusion.

"Nothing's gonna harm you, darling, not while I'm around…"

Nellie glanced up at Mr Todd who was staring at her in awe, she signalled to him then took Lucy from him, starting to walk back to the store. She continued to hum the song that brought tears to her eyes; it reminded her to much of Toby.

"There is nothing to see here; she had a nightmare is all." Nellie heard Sweeney tell the crowd in a strong voice before he caught up to the women and walked with them silently.

Once they got back into the shop Mrs Lovett took Lucy to her room, sitting her down on the couch. She got a large glass of wine, popping a sleeping tablet into it before handing it to Lucy.

"Now, love. Drink this, it'll make you feel better" she said with smile, and then walked out of the room. She was greeted by Mr Todd.

"How did you do that?" he asked, never before hearing or seeing such a thing in his life. And he had seen many crazed people as a prisoner of the docks, none of which could be easily calmed down by anyone, not even their own families.

"It was just a song young Toby sung to me once, very calming I find." She replied with a smile, walking past him to get herself a glass of wine. But Mr Todd stopped her, grabbing her hand.

"Thank you, Nellie. Truly, I don't know what I'd do without you" he said with such sincerity that it took Mrs Lovett by complete surprise.

"Well, Mr T, I ain't going anywhere" she said, her stomach fluttering with happy nerves. She had the real urge to reach up and kiss him, like she always did, yet she didn't want to push her limits.

He gave her hand a gentle squeeze and walked into the room, Mrs Lovett guessed to watch over Lucy. Nellie walked out to get her glass of wine, her smile not leaving her face the whole time. Maybe she would succeed in winning over Mr Todd, and his actions gave her the boast of confidence she needed to continue her pursuit whole heartedly.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews guys! Keep them coming or I might lose motivation! ;)**

A scream woke Nellie up from her short nap; she must have fallen asleep after her glass of wine. She blinked slightly and looked around; sure enough there was no one else in the shop only another echoed scream. Nellie jumped up and hurried into the room realizing that Lucy must've woken up from her slumber and it didn't help that Mr Todd had fallen asleep in the chair next to her.

"Mischief! Murderer!" she kept screaming out, her wild eyes staring straight at Mr Todd.

Nellie took it upon herself to again take hold of the situation, starting to softly sing Toby's song to her. Almost immediately she started to calm, her eyes turning towards Nellie and going soft. Nellie glanced at Mr T, who only gave her a small smile back before a look came across his face. Mrs Lovett almost recognized it immediately; it was the same look he got when she first told him that Lucy had poisoned herself because of the Judge. The look of revenge.

After a good 20 minutes, Nellie managed to calm Lucy down enough for her to get to sleep. She singled to Mr Todd to follow her out of the room, which he did so accordingly.

"What is that look for, Mr T? What are you thinking?" Mrs Lovett asked him as soon as they left, crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow.

"I don't believe I know what you're talking about, Mrs Lovett" Sweeney replied, a smirk crossing his lips. His mind was already forming a plan to get revenge on the Judge for stealing his Lucy away again.

"I think you know exactly what I'm talking about" she replied, taking a step closer to him.

"Of course I do, my dear. It seems, history may be repeating itself" he muttered, taking another step towards and then past her. Nellie's eyes drifting shut at such close proximity to him. As he walked past she turned to face him, tilting her head.

"And what would you suppose we do about him then? You tried killing him once Mr T… didn't really go as planned now, did it?" she asked, trying to maintain the belief that the last 24 hours of their lives were no existent.

"No, it did not. This time there will be no waiting. You may be right about a lot of things, Mrs Lovett, but not about this." He said, giving her a look.

"You don't suppose we go to him, do you?" Nellie whispered worriedly, there was nothing more she feared then being head on with the Judge in his own territory, where he had the advantage.

"No. Not we. You stay here with Lucy, I don't want the either of you in harm's way" he said, pacing the room, thinking of ways to get to the Judge.

"Either of us…" Nellie murmured, smiling to herself before shaking her head, "I'm not allowing it, Mr T. He'll kill ya if he gets the chance, and you can't be leaving me with her. You can't leave _me._"

Sweeney turned to her, an actual look of sympathy and sadness on his face, "Nellie, you have to trust me. It's the only way."

Mrs Lovett just shook her head, she hated the idea of him going off to the Judges house alone, or at all. "Fine but if anything is to happen to you, I wouldn't be able to live."

"Nothing's going to happen, my dear. To that I swear." He said, giving her another reassuring smile.

"Good. Now, would you like a pie?" she asked, her voice dripping with the fake sweetness she gave to all of her customers.

"That would be lovely, Mrs Lovett." He said back with the same fake kindness.

Nellie grinned and "bounced" over to get two pies out of the oven, placing them on a two plates. She put one down on the table in front of where Sweeney had chosen to sit, "There you are, Mr T, enjoy"

And with that the two of them had their first meal together in their rather long acquaintance. It might have been nothing special or particular to Sweeney but to Nellie it certainly was. To her it was almost the equivalent of a first date, and inside she certainly felt like that giddy school girl on her first date with the guy she'd had a crush on since grade school.

After they finished eating their pies Nellie chose to help with Lucy. Mr Todd had tried to explain to her what happened as much as he could, not even being sure of everything himself it was rather difficult. Her devotion to Mr Todd got the better of her, in her opinion now she was going above and beyond. She wanted him to be happy, but she wanted to be the reason for it. Quietly she walked into the room, taking a seat next to Lucy. She waited for close to an hour before Lucy woke up and she immediately jumped as far from Mrs Lovett as she possibly could.

"Get away from me" Lucy muttered quickly, hugging her legs to her chest.

"Now, now, love. Calm down. I ain't gonna hurt ya, I'm just here to explain" Nellie said strongly, holding out a hand. Lucy eyed her for a moment, taking a leap of faith and taking her hand.

"What's going on? You… that man…"

"Hush, hush, dear. There's nothing wrong with Mr T, he's a good man" Nellie said fondly and to her that was the truth.

"No, no… He is a murderer! You… you are the devils wife! The smells from below! The smell of burning flesh!" she jerked her hand away, hugging herself again, her eyes going back to their wide state.

"Lucy, stop! Stop it please… You don't know what you're talking about. I'm no devils wife, I'm just Eleanor Lovett, Nellie. You know me…" she said, sitting on the couch next to her and moving closer.

"You and him are evil…" she hissed at Nellie.

"Now you listen to me, love. That man out there loves you, he always has. You sort out that head of yours or else all of this is gonna be a waste" Nellie said angrily, getting up from the chair and walking away.

"I could never love that man! He is a heartless killer!" Lucy sneered at her, rocking herself slightly.

Nellie looked over at her and shook her head, "You are a foolish girl, I don't care what happened. I would never let a man like that go!"

With that Nellie walked out of the room, she knew Lucy had her reasons for being the way she was. She knew how awful her life must have been after her encounter with Judge Turpin but she couldn't understand how she could throw away a second chance with Sweeney. All Nellie wanted was a second chance with him, Lucy had one and she was throwing it away and that infuriated Nellie beyond belief. No matter how much she wanted Sweeney to herself he wanted Lucy, and if she couldn't have him she was going to do everything in her power to see that he was happy. Even if that meant seemingly having no compassion.

**Review! Review! Review!**


	5. Chapter 5

Over the next week Sweeney had developed his plan to go to the Judges house and to enact his revenge. His thoughts had travelled to the fact that the Beadle may be lurking around and having to dispose of him as well. Whether or not that should be before or after the death of the Judge would be determined on the spot. Lucy over this week had gotten a lot better mentally; she could cope with moving around and seeing both Nellie and Sweeney without screaming or having a fit. Nellie had been helping with Lucy's recovery, although she still was angry at the fact Lucy insisted that she could never and would never love a man such as Sweeney again.

"I have to go, Nellie. Or else it'll be too late by the time I get there" Mr Todd said, sharpening his razors.

"Must you, Mr T? I still don't like the idea at all" Nellie sighed, she was sitting in the barber chair watching him to the side of her.

"We've been through this. You have to stay here with Lucy, I'll be back before dark" he replied, putting the razors in his belt.

"Alright, you get going then" Nellie said, standing up and crossing her arms. Sweeney nodded and paused for a moment, looking at her in a way Nellie didn't even recognize. Within a second Mr Todd placed a small kiss on her cheek and walked out before she could say another word of it to him. Nellie brought a hand up to her cheek and smiled slightly before making a snap decision. There was no way she was letting him go to Judge Tuprin's house alone; she couldn't lose him that easily. She rushed downstairs and grabbed her shawl then stopped in on Lucy who was reading one of Mrs Lovett's few books.

"I'm going out, Lucy. You behave yourself; don't do anything stupid, you understand me?" Nellie asked, using the same motherly tone she had once used on her Toby.

"Yes, Mrs Lovett… Won't do anything stupid…" Lucy said, barely glancing up from the book.

"Good, good. I'll be back later" she replied before turning and walking out of the store. She headed through the town streets and into the more sophisticated and rich part of London. Even here the streets weren't as gloomy as they are back home, there's more colour it would seem, more life. Nellie turned the corner just in time to see Mr Todd head into the Judge's house. She couldn't help but wonder whether the Judge remembered any of the events leading up to his death, did he remember Sweeney killing him? Who Sweeney really was? If he did it would only end up worse for Mr Todd and Nellie could not bear that thought.

She slowly inched towards the house, hiding behind anything and everything she could. She took to hiding behind a brick pillar near the gate to the house when someone grabbed her from behind, she tried screaming out but her scream was muffled by a large course hand covering her mouth. The next thing she knew she was slowly waking up in a room, she supposed in the Judges house. Her hands were tied together behind her back and she had a gag in her mouth, again she tried calling out but failed.

She turned to silence and very faintly through the walls she could hear parts of a conversation, she recognized Sweeney's voice instantly and wanted nothing more than to be next to him right now. The other voice was easily Judge Turpin's.

"You think you could trick me, barber? I remember everything! Benjamin Barker!" she heard the Judge say angrily.

"I have no clue who this man you speak of is, my lord." Sweeney replied in a rather monotone voice.

"Oh, don't you play that card! I know all too well, you killed me, you did!" the Judge cried

"I certainly did not! If you were dead how are you here then?" Mr Todd replied smugly. This question was one she wished Sweeney would never ask, it would blow their whole cover and her plan. But before the Judge could reply a third voice joined in the conversation.

"My Lord, she's awake" the Beadle snickered.

"Bring her in, maybe the barber will change his ways…" the Judge replied and Nellie realized they were speaking about her.

"Yes, My Lord." The Beadle replied, within half a minute the door to the room Mrs Lovett was in swang open and the Beadle waltzed in. "Come on, my girl, Sweeney's waiting"

Nellies eyes widened but she willingly went with the Beadle, she just wanted to see Sweeney and if this was the only way then so be it. The Beadle grabbed her arm roughly and dragged her into the room, upon entering Sweeney's eyes widened and he stepped forward.

"Let her go" he said straight to the Judge.

"I'll let her go if you admit who you are, and that you tried to kill me. I will have you sent to the docks for it" the Judge said, shooting a glare at Sweeney. Nellie shook her head slightly, not enough to catch the Judges or the Beadles eyes but just to signal to Mr Todd not to do as they say.

The Judge walked up to Mrs Lovett an evil sneer on his face, out of his pants pocket he pulled a large pocket knife. He grabbed Nellie and held the knife to her throat making Sweeney flinch and take another step forward, resisting the urge to strike out at him.

"Shall I enlighten you by showing you the way you killed me" Judge Turpin asked, a mocking tone coating his voice again as he pushed the blade harder against Mrs Lovett's throat. Her eyes widening, clawing at his arm to let her go, she stared straight at Mr Todd willing him not to do anything stupid. Yet, he still went on to say,

"Fine. You've caught me. I'm Benjamin Barker! And I did try to kill you, but I did not succeed. Now let her go!" he said, taking one final step forward. The Judge dropped his gripe on Nellie and shoved her into the awaiting arms of the Beadle.

"Take her away" he said to the Beadle, giving him a nod. Nellie again tried to scream out and fight back, Sweeney trying to go after her only to have a knife held out to him. "Leave her, no harm will come to your dear pie maker. As long as you leave and give me Lucy"

"Lucy…" Mr Todd muttered, his eyebrows furrowing together. He knew the Judge wanted Lucy, he always did but there was no way that he was giving up Lucy or Mrs Lovett. "I'll bring her here when I can, Judge"

"That's a good man. Now get out of here" he growled, turning and stalking out of the room. Mr Todd ran out the door and down the street, he was more than unhappy with how things had gone. He was so close to killing that man until Mrs Lovett showed up, after very strict instructions not to come. This was exactly the thing that Sweeney had wished wouldn't happen, why he wanted Nellie to stay at home. He thought to himself that now his revenge would not just be for Lucy but for Nellie as well. He also realized that Mrs Lovett meant a lot more to him now then he had let himself believe before. Without her a piece of him was missing, he felt lost and he needed her back. And he would stop at nothing to bring her back home, back to him.

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	6. Chapter 6

Sweeney made his way back to the house slowly, he was numb. He couldn't think, couldn't process the events the just unfolded themselves in front of him. Mrs Lovett, Nellie had come after him, just as she said she would and just as he said she shouldn't. He found himself ridden with a feeling, one in which he had not felt for a very long time… Guilt and a twinge of something else, worry? Sadness? He shook his head, he had been dead inside for so long he had lost all recollection of what human, mortal feelings were.

He entered the shop and sat down, this was worse than he could have imagines, he hated the fact that Nellie was under the complete control and mercy of Judge Turpin. His mind wandered to what happen when Lucy was under the mercy of him and he felt an immediate stab of horror course through him. True, Sweeney had never payed Mrs Lovett a kind thought, or thought fondly of the bubbly woman but the mere thought of her being under the mercy of Judge Turpin was unbearable. What happened to his Lucy… No not his. Not anymore. She was just Lucy now, what happened to Lucy was unbearable as it were, there was no way he could cope with it happen again, and to another woman.

Sweeney knew all too well that Mrs Lovett had a great deal of love and admiration for him, not remembering under the exact circumstances he recalled this but he knew that she once told him straight to his face that she was in love with him. He remembered the sadness in her beautiful brown eyes, with that thought he paused. Beautiful? Since when had he found anything about Mrs Lovett beautiful? He let his mind drift back to her; almost unwillingly as he closed his eyes he could envision her perfectly. Her slim figure, her perfectly shaped face and strong jaw, those beautiful big brown eyes that always looked at him with so much longing and love. Her red lips always slightly parted when at rest and always in a small joyful smile when at work. Her dark mess of curls, the way they tumbled down the sides of her face and down her back. The way her hips swayed gently under her dress as she walked around the pie store, his shop, everywhere. Everything about her he could recall perfectly in his mind, a small smile appeared over his lips, he realized then that Mrs Lovett was more than just his neighbour, more than just a woman who helped him with his revenge, his partner in crime. He thought of her as nothing more than a woman, a stranger. But no, she was more than that, she was a friend. He recalled her words from his first day back in London.

"I'm your friend too, Mr Todd. If you only knew, Mr Todd…"

She had whispered in his ear, he sing song voice still ringing out as he imagined that day. Yes, Mrs Lovett was a friend and his feelings towards her slighted down the path of something more. Almost immediately he felt awful, that same feeling from before washing over him, guilt. He felt awful for thinking about Mrs Lovett for so long when he had finally gotten his wife, his Lucy back. Only now she wasn't his Lucy anymore, she was a woman long past help, long past being mentally stable ever again. Lucy was lost she had been replaced by an insane… beggar woman. Sweeney frowned, he recalled the same behaviour Lucy was showing in conjunction with the beggar woman he killed… or thought he killed. He thought hard, there was a whole chunk of events that he didn't remember at all and it was strange. It was all a blur to him, only some events remained clear.

He was snapped out of his thoughts as Lucy entered the room, she looked awful. Her usually beautiful blonde wavy hair was now shoved up in a messy bun, stray hair everywhere. Her eyes were glazed over, as if she wasn't even in the same world as them anymore. Her skin turned even paler, a sickly color contrasting with the dark shadows around her eyes from little to no sleep.

"Where's Nellie?" she whispered hoarsely, Nellie had been Lucy's companion over the last week or so. The only one to be able to calm her down at all.

"She's been taken…" Mr Todd replied, shifting his gaze to the table.

"Taken? How? By who?" Lucy cried, advancing towards his at a terrifying pase for the usually slow woman

"Judge Turpin" was all that Sweeney muttered, flinching at the shock of a horrified shriek that escaped Lucy.

"What are you doing here then! You've gotta get her! You gotta save her! Save Nellie, sir! Save her!" Lucy cried out, tears marking her cheeks.

Mr Todd looked up at her angrily, "Of course I want to save her! I'm working on it!" He honestly hoped that was enough to shut her up for now. It was true, this woman before him was not his Lucy, she did not consume his thoughts like she used to. He no longer dreamed of her yellow hair, her pale skin. The only person he could see now was Mrs Lovett, and as confusing as his feelings presented to be, he chose to trust them, to let them take over his ration dark mind and make the decisions for him.

Lucy stared at Sweeney, her eyes worried and scared. Sweeney made an attempt to move but was blocked by Lucy, some of her old self back, he could already sense it. Maybe the tradgedy with Mrs Lovett would bring her normal self-back, not that Sweeney was even thinking about that now.

"Benjamin, please let me help" she whispered, her voice returning to its normal old honey consistency.

"I'm not Benjamin anymore, Lucy. And you're no longer his Mrs Barker. I'm Sweeney and you're just Lucy" Sweeney muttered, this was his attempt at telling her that there was no longer anything between the two of them. That this was the end, he had to move on. After all this time he should have by now, rather than dwelling on the past he should have been looking at his present, his future, what he had. But they do say, once you lose something or someone you realize just how much they mean to you.

Sweeney ascended the stairs to his shop, leaving Lucy downstairs to her thoughts. He sat himself in the barber chair and took out a razor, twirling it in the light coming through the large window.

"My friends, we will get her back. And again, you shall drip rubies" he whispered to them, a small sadistic smile crossing his features. Yes, rubies would drip from these blades, he was going to get Nellie back, and the Judge was going to pay dearly for trying to take her away from him.

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	7. Chapter 7

Nellie woke up with a jolt, she felt the cold hard ground underneath her and the musty air that filled her lungs made her cough. She barely remembered a thing after she had seen Mr Todd, once he left her eyes clouded with tears, she didn't particularly regret coming after him but this certainly wasn't the way she had wished the event to unfold. Again, if not for the hundredth time over the last month Nellie broke down, sobbing. She could hardly see in the room making it all that much worse, loud heart wrenching sobs echoed around the small room. She was shaking, with fear and the temperature of the room.

She thought of Sweeney, as she always did. Her heart ached for him, she wanted nothing more than to please him, to make him love her. She had thought that showing him how much she cared, by coming after him that he might realize just the depth of devotion she had for him. Of course, the plan backfired, making her look like a weak woman who couldn't fend for herself. At least, that's how she saw it. She thought of how, right now, at this moment he would be at home with his Lucy, trying to fix her, to make her the way she was when they first got here, the way she was before Judge Turpin had touched her. How in his mind he wouldn't even think of her, worry about her and he certainly wouldn't come to save her. No matter how much she loved him, she knew that he did not care for her, not in the way she wanted, not at all.

Suddenly the door swung open and a light flickered on. Nellie jumped back and backed up to the wall, she let her eyes adjust to the light and looked at the Judge with a great sense of fear. While thinking of Sweeney and Lucy she also remembered what the Judge was capable of, what he did to Lucy and now she was completely at his will. She suddenly felt exposed, so she wrapped her arms around her legs, hugging them to her chest.

"What do you want?" she asked, her voice shaking with fear, which she then tried to cover up. He knew he had the advantage if she acted weak, if she acted scared. The Judge merely laughed at her, he was a cruel man at heart, lacking empathy to anyone and anything.

"What do I want? I want Lucy, the same thing I have wanted for many years" he replied, amusement in his voice as he walked towards a cowering Mrs Lovett.

"Well, I ain't Lucy. Lucy isn't even Lucy anymore, not after what you did to her" Nellie spat, true she didn't like Lucy but she did hate what that man had done to her, what he made her into.

"That was barely anything, Mrs Lovett" he paused and knelt down next to her, gently lifting a hand to stroke her cheek. "I always thought you were a respectable woman, Mrs Lovett. Your husband was a great friend of mine once. But now, you seem quite infatuated with that barber…"

Nellie tensed at his touch and stared at him, unmoving. She said nothing to him, she didn't want him to know that she indeed loved Sweeney or for him to know the depth of that love. He smirked as he continued talking,

"It's a real pity, my dear Mrs Lovett. That he would again chose her over you, after all you did for him. The things you covered up… the murders" he whispered into her ear threateningly. Nellie let out an audible gasp, he remembered, just what she wished he hadn't. He knew Sweeney had killed those people that she had put them in her gourmet pies and that Sweeney had in fact killed him.

"Yes, Mrs Lovett, I can practically read your thoughts. I remember. I remember what he did to me, what he must have done too many before. What you concealed so well from the law. Don't you think it's time the two of you should be punished for your crimes?" Nellie again shook her head, the Judge was now dangerously close to her, his hand still lingered on her cheek and with a single finger he traced down her jaw and lifted her chin to meet his eyes.

"What do you think? What would be a suitable punishment for you? For him… or maybe even for the both of you at once" he muttered, his lips moving against the skin of her neck now. Nellie bit back tears, trying to get away from him, she didn't want to end up like Lucy.

"Please… I'm sorry. Don't hurt me…" Nellie whispered, the Judges lips still lingering on her neck.

"And why shouldn't I? It's just another way to break your dear Mr Todd, my dear." He muttered against her.

"You must be mistaken… Mr Todd doesn't care for me. He wouldn't care if you did anything to me" she said shakily, that statement could go either of two ways. One, he would leave her alone because this would not affect Mr Todd, and with that there was no reason to touch her or two, he would do it anyway because no one would care if he did.

"He doesn't? It didn't look that way to me" he said, withdrawing and looking into her eyes. She was shocked by his words, didn't look that way? Did he think that Sweeney cared for her…

The Judge stood up and walked to the door, "I'll be back, Mrs Lovett, don't you worry."

And so Nellie was left alone in that cold room again, the one perk was the light was now on and she could see. The Judge… he said that it didn't seem Sweeney didn't care for her. For some reason even though it was Judge Turpin she was filled with an incredible sense of hope. Maybe she had underestimated Sweeney's feelings for her, maybe he did care, and maybe he would come and get her out of here. Hopefully before the Judge did anything to her, today was a close call and she certainly didn't want to experience anything like that again. His cold thin lips on her neck, she shivered at the thought. Next time she would fight back, especially if he tried to touch her, she wasn't going to submit, to give up she would fight back. Mrs Lovett wasn't a woman to give in easily, as she had proved before, today had been her weakness. She had been in shock, out of character but now, she had even more of a reason to fight back, now she needed to find out if Sweeney truly did care for her. That alone gave her so much more to live for.

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	8. Chapter 8

**AN: Thank you to everyone who has favorited, followed and reviewed! You're all amazing! This chapter contains a death, I was feeling particularly evil after watching Sweeney Todd again and let's just say, this person annoyed me this time round! And I promise you the Sweenet is coming! *hearts***

Sweeney had been pacing his room intently for several days, trying so hard to figure out how he could get Nellie back. It wouldn't be an easy task, now she was at the Judges house. His mind traveled over plans to get back at the Judge, ways to hurt him for taking Nellie and doing God knows what to her. He shook his head, determined not to think about the what if, no, Nellie would be fine, she will be fine. The bell rang as the door was opened carefully, a timid Lucy walked into the room and Sweeney inwardly groaned.

"What do you want?" he asked, tiredly. He wasn't in the mood for Lucy's ramblings today, nor any other days. He felt awful for feeling that way, he knew she couldn't help it but he still found it frustrating.

Lucy looked hurt by his remark, "I… I want to help, Ben" she whispered, moving closer to him.

"You can't. There is nothing you can do" he muttered angrily, walking to the other side of the room.

"But there is, Ben… I could be a distraction" Lucy said, she hated the idea herself but she wanted Nellie back, Nellie was her only friend, even if the affections weren't always returned.

"It's Sweeney now!" Sweeney yelled before actually taking her words in, he turned back to her, a devilish smile appearing across his handsome features. "That might actually be a good idea"

"As… as long as he… he doesn't do anything to me" Lucy muttered, her eyes staying on Sweeney but her head dipping.

Sweeney walked up to her and took her by the shoulders, "Lucy. Things may not be the same between us but nothing bad is going to happen to you on my watch"

She gave him a faint smile before retreating back out of the room only to pause at the door way. "Be… Sweeney, there is a man downstairs…"

Sweeney rushed over to the door hoping that it would be the Judge but to see a tall man in his dark blue coat, Pirelli. Sweeney chuckled at the irony of the moment, he remembered Mrs Lovett telling him to wait for the Judge, only to be visited by the exact same man. But the vast difference was Pirelli no longer had his boy in tow, Toby was nowhere to be seen. Sweeney turned to Lucy and looked straight into her wild eyes, "Go downstairs, send the man up and do _not _come back up here until I get you, do you understand?"

Lucy nodded once, completely understanding. She knew Sweeney was a murderer now, that with Mrs Lovetts help they committed the perfect crime and ran the perfect business simultaneously. She hurried downstairs muttering to Pirelli to go upstairs, he thanked the strange woman and headed up the stairs and into the barber.

"Mr Todd." Pirelli said in his fake French accent, taking his pristine white gloves off and looking around the room.

Sweeney sneered at him, "No need to play dumb, Pirelli. I know who you are."

Immediately he dropped the accent and smirked, "That you do, Mr Barker. Although, I don't know how I am alive because, Mr Barker, I believe you killed me"

"I remember that too. But this is all a blur to me. Everyone is alive." Sweeney muttered, not interested in gaging a conversation with man.

"But, the law is back now, Mr Barker and I don't think they would be too happy with you and dear Mrs Lovetts schemes, now would they?" It seemed that Pirelli had already forgotten such threats did not work on Sweeney.

He turned abruptly, holding one of his glistening sliver razors behind his back. "You'd think you would have learnt from last time. But it seems that you have remained as dumb as always"

"Now, now, Mr Barker" Pirelli started but we cut off with one simple swing of Sweeney's arm, slicing through his throat. Pirelli dropping to the ground and blood spilled out of the wound openly. Sweeney looked at the man in complete disgust, he put the razor down on the bench and searched Pirelli for any money or valuables. Just like Mrs Lovett had once done. He chuckled fondly at the memory, when he had first killed Pirelli her face was priceless. She'd thought he'd lost his marbles, but look what the paired had turned into. As far as he was concerned they had both lost their marbles a long time ago.

"You should have stayed away, Pirelli" he muttered, dragging a quick dying Pirelli out of sight. He went back over to the table and cleaned off the blood from the razor, popping it back into his belt and heading downstairs to find Lucy. He entered the shop and found her sifting through Mrs Lovetts cooking equipment, for some reason he found himself enraged. It seemed that Lucy was violating Mrs Lovett's things and that made him mad, Mrs Lovett should be the only one to go through that and she wasn't here. No, he wasn't angry at Lucy per say, he was angry that she wasn't Nellie, she wasn't his lovely red haired baker and Nellie would be his, as soon as he saved her from that awful Judge.

"What are you doing?" He said angrily, Lucy whipped around, knocking a few bowls over in the process.

"I… I though… I mean… I was jus-"

"No! Do not touch her things! You have no right" his eyes shone with anger, a look that Lucy had never seen directed at her before. She cowered, crossing her arms over her chest not even daring to look at him.

"I'm sorry, sir… sorry" she whispered. With that Sweeney turned and walked out of the room, he decided to go into Mrs Lovetts room. He looked around, sighing. Yes, he had to get her back, if it was the last thing he would do. As long as she was safe and the Judge dead… again. He could die a happy man, well, not truly happy again for that was impossible for him. Or so he thought.

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	9. Chapter 9

**AN: I was reluctant of posting this chapter... My reviews have gone down. Come on people! They keep me motivated!**

Sweeney was pacing again, as he did so much over the last few days. Tomorrow he decided was going to be the day he was going to rescue Mrs Lovett and he was going through the plans in his head. Lucy had proven to be a great help in the scheme, her ideas actually having some worth and Sweeney often wondered if they were only ideas thought up by someone who wasn't altogether there (in the head). As it was late at night Sweeney tried to settle down into bed, he stared at the ceiling and started to think of the ways he could punish the Judge for taking away two women he… _loved. _First Lucy, now Nellie and this time the Judges death was not going to be quick. Sweeney drifted into a restless slumber lasting only a few hours, his mind churning with ideas and visions of Nellie.

* * *

Nellie had spent the good part of 5 days down in the cellar where the Judge kept her, she had barely been given any food and the food she did receive was of poor quality. Not as bad as her pies before Sweeney came along, she had to admit, so she was rather used to it. The Judge would come down every day, to talk or torment her, yet he had not tried anything more. She was almost certain that he would, he seemed to have no guilt when it came to Lucy and his endeavours with her. But yet, he made no move to kiss her, to touch her and she was more than happy with that.

She started thinking about her Mr T, '_No Nell, not yours… just Mr T" _she would have to think to herself over and over. He was probably up above living his happy life with Lucy, not even remembering that she existed. The thought made her heart ache but she had come to accept it some time ago. Suddenly the door swung open with a loud thud as it hit the wall. Judge Turpin was slumped against the door frame, a bottle of gin in his hand, half empty. By the look of him Nellie could tell this wasn't his first bottle.

He stumbled into the room, flicking the light on and shutting the door behind him. Nellie remained where she was, standing on the far wall of the room, as far away from his as she could be now. He moved slowly and rather painfully across to her, taking several swigs of his gin as he went. As he got closer to her a sinister smirk appeared across his lips.

"Hello, beautiful." He slurred, putting a hand on the wall beside her head. She glanced at it and back at him, her heart pounding in her chest. All the other times the man had "visited" her he was completely sober and she feared for what would happen if he was drunk.

"Turpin" she said strongly, looking him dead in the eye, her fear not showing in her eyes.

"What ya up to down 'ere, love?" he asked, his eyes raking over her body slowly.

"What type of question is that!" she stated, rolling her eyes and taking to crossing her arms over her chest.

"Now, now, no need to get all fired up" he muttered, dropping the bottle and using the other hand to wrap around her waist, pulling her up against him. Almost immediately Nellie froze with fear, he hadn't gotten this close to her since that first day. But she wasn't going to give in that easily, she held strong, her arms still crossed and averted her gaze elsewhere.

"Hey, beautiful, look at me" Turpin dropped his hand from the wall and turned her head to face him. "You, my girl, have beautiful eyes"

"I would be flattered… But I'm not yours" she said angrily, trying to get away from him only to be haltered in her efforts by being pushed against the wall, his body staying close to hers.

"You will be… after I'm finished with you" he whispered, dipping his head and kissing her hard. She struggled against him , refusing to give in to him for a moment. His hand slid down the side of her body, starting to hitch her skirts up only to be stopped by a knock on the door. The Judge pulled away, staying close to her still, he turned his head towards the door.

"What do ya want?" he called out angrily.

"My Lord, there is a girl here to see you. I think you'd be delighted." The Beadle called from the other side of the door.

"Who is it then?" Turpin asked, sighing in exasperation.

"Lucy, My Lord. Lucy Barker" the Beadle replied, the excitement in his voice very evident.

"Lucy?" Turpin whispered, drawing away from Nellie and heading towards the door, "I'll be back, my girl"

Nellie let out a sigh of relief, slumping down to the ground. She started crying, silently as to not make the Judge aware of it, if he was still around and she hoped to God he wasn't. Her body shook with silent sobs until the door to the cellar clicked open. She quickly stood up, at the ready and wiped her face, she was ready now, ready to fight back if necessary. The door creaked open slowly and Sweeney appeared on the other side of the door, Nellie gasped at the sight of him. Had she started hallucinating? She hadn't been getting much water, she thought.

"Fancy seeing you here, Mrs Lovett" he replied coolly, smiling slightly at her.

Nellie stared at him, her eyes wide. She crept forward slowly, "Are you real? Is that really you, Mr T?" she asked softly, reaching out to touch him, just to see if he would disappear or not. He amazingly did not, only let out a soft chuckle

"Of course it is. Now, let's get you out of here" he said, grabbing her hand and pulling her up the stairs. She was too shocked to do anything else but go with him until it dawned on her.

"Mr T? Lucy isn't up there with him is she?" she asked worriedly, Turpin was in no state of mind to be around her let alone Lucy.

"Yes, she is." He muttered as they reached the top of the stairs, Sweeney turned and pointed to a door. "You go out there and straight back to the shop. You hear me? Go nowhere else, straight there. I'm going to get Lucy and I'll meet you there"

Nellie nodded, she hated the thought of leaving him in the house, or even leaving Lucy but she wanted to get out and she knew that he could fend for himself. "Thank you, Mr T. For saving me" she whispered and hurried out the door. She looked back only once to see Sweeney nod and head into the other room to get Lucy.

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	10. Chapter 10

**AN: So sorry for the delayed update! I've been a bit busy with school work and exams and whatnot. But here is the next chapter! SWEENETT FOR THE WIN! Enjoy and remember to REVIEW!**

Mrs Lovett sat, she stood, she paced, she stared out the window, she made a few pies and she worried. She'd made it back to the store safe and sound, and after 5 minutes of waiting she had taken a quick bath and gotten some fresh clothes on. By then that was another ten minutes and Sweeney and Lucy still hadn't shown up. She kept waiting, growing more worried and finally after half an hour they strolled down the street, Sweeney in front and Lucy trailing behind closely. Mrs Lovett couldn't help but notice the distance between them and wonder what happened with their relationship, only weeks ago they were inseparable, even as Lucy started losing her mind again. But at the current moment she couldn't be bothered dwelling into those facts, she was just happy to see Sweeney out of that place alive.

As soon as he walked through the door she threw herself into his arms, hugging him tightly. To her very pleasant surprise he hugged her back just as tight, "I am glad you are alright, Mrs Lovett" he said rather stiffly. All his feelings for her were multiplied when he saw her and he didn't know how to handle it, he hadn't felt this way for anyone for a long time. Yes, he always believed he loved Lucy but it seemed it was a mere infatuation, especially with that yellow hair of hers. But with Nellie it was different, it was new and to be completely honest with himself it was frightening.

"Come on, Mr T, it's Nellie remember" she said with a small laugh, pulling away from him and starting to head back over to a seat. But before she could get very far he grabbed her hand.

"Nellie, I need to speak to you about something" he said rather shyly, glancing at Lucy out of the corner of his eye, "Would you mind coming upstairs?"

"Course not" she replied simply and the pair headed up to Sweeney's store. "Now, what do you want to talk about?" she raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms

"I… I don't know how to start this. Or say it at all. So, I'll start from the beginning" Sweeney swallowed and looked at a very confused Nellie Lovett, "After you were… after he held you captive, I went home and I realized that. You meant more to me then I could have thought, I didn't want harm to come to you…"

Nellie stared at him in shock, was he really starting to say what she think he was saying?

"I also realized that my heart no longer belongs to Lucy, no matter how much I try to tell myself it does. When the Judge had you, you were his… but I refused to let it stand because, in the end. You are _mine" _he finished with a nod, avoiding eye contact. He wasn't very good at feelings, expressing them or even feeling them but he'd tried. Nellie was shocked to say the least, she loved him, of course she did, she had for many many years but for him to love her back, or even begin to, was to good to be true.

Carefully she inched closer to him, taking his hand in her own, "Mr Todd, you know I've always loved you. I told you that once before… I love you"

With a small smile, Sweeney pulled her close to him, kissing her with an enormous amount of passion. All this true feeling poured into their first real kiss and Nellie returned it with her own amount of love he had for the man. Her arms wound themselves around his neck, pushing her body close to his, she had longed for the feeling of his lips on hers, his body pressed against hers and it was all she imagined and more. Their kiss turned into one of heated passion and lust, every wasted moment they had spent together was being made up for in this night, that they were both sure of.

XXX

The next morning Nellie slowly woke up, her head on Mr Todds chest, his arms around her and hers around him. It was a rather bittersweet moment for Nellie, she smiled to herself recalling the events of last night and gently moved to give Sweeney a small peck on the cheek. She rose out of bed and quickly put on her dress, taking one more look at Sweeney before heading downstairs. At the bottom of the stairs she was greeted by a very over tired looking Lucy.

"Lucy, what are you doing out here so early?" she asked, gently pushing the other woman back inside.

"You never came down from there, Nell… I thought he killed ya!" Lucy replied, worry evident in her distressed tone.

"Course Mr T didn't kill me, Lucy. He has no reason to. If he wanted me dead he wouldn't have come to get me for the Judges, now would he?" Nellie said reassuringly.

"No, no, I suppose he wouldn't of… I was worried is all" Lucy whispered, sitting down on one of the benches.

"No need to be, dear." She replied with a smile, a more cheerful one than normal.

Lucy looked up at her, understanding on her face, she tilted her head before asking, "Did Ben tell you he loves you?"

Nellie glanced up, surprised. She hadn't expected Lucy to ask something like that, especially after her and Sweeney's relationship practically just ended.

"No he didn't, love. Not in those words at least…" she smiled softly refraining from saying anything else.

"But he does, I know he does. He was so worried when you were gone, all he did was plan to get you back… He didn't look at me once that whole time" she whispered then smiled softly, "And you love him… Like you always have… You're meant for eachother"

Nellie couldn't hold back the grin that spread across her features at Lucy's words, coming from a half crazy woman who was in love with the same person, that meant a lot. More than a lot. She was about to reply again when Sweeney came downstairs, Nellie grinned at him from across the room. He gave her a small smile back and a glance to Lucy.

"Good mornin', Mr T" Nellie called out, her happiness radiating through her voice.

"Morning, pet" he muttered, pouring himself a glass of gin and making his way over to the two women, "Good morning, Lucy"

"Morning, morning" she muttered and looked away, glancing at Nellie before she did so.

Sweeney placed a simple kiss on Nellie's lips that sent her heart fluttering, such a sweet gesture from a cruel man. Only Nellie knew he wasn't so cruel deep down, he was still the gentle loving man she had met all those years ago. Only now he had a new layer, a more mysterious, dangerous layer and she loved that. She had never been a prime and proper lady like Lucy had been, she'd always been… how she was now, unusual and eccentric. Sweeney was meant for her, Benjamin was for Lucy… It was her turn. Nellie smiled at Sweeney and moved closer to him, just happy to be in such a close proximity to her love.

"I love you…" she whispered to him, looking up at him with such admiration in her eyes.

Sweeney looked down at her, he had developed such a deep fondness for Nellie, yes, but love… He didn't know if he could tell her he loved her, not yet. He smiled softly and gave her another kiss in response before turning and walking away back up to his shop. Nellie stood in her place, slightly disappointed but not expecting anymore deep down.

"He'll get there, Nell…" Lucy said, then hobbled off outside.

Nellie nodded, she trusted Lucy on this, for Lucy did know about Sweeney's love a lot more than she did. He would come around, he would love her, it would just take some time.

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	11. Chapter 11

**AN: I am so so sorry I haven't uploaded! I was on holidays! But now I am back and I should be able to update once a week easily. Just so you guys all know, this fanfic is most likely going to have 25 chapters (that I've planned). I am also thinking of making a separate fanfic with an M rating as some little, special chapters :P So, if anyone would be interested in that please let me know! AND REMEMBER TO REVIEW!**

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The feelings Sweeney was having for Nellie grew more and more each day. He wasn't shut off from her anymore, he was experiencing a completely different woman. Of course she had always been enthusiastic, eccentric and utterly adoring of him but now he saw more sides to her. He saw her dark side, before to overcome by his own selfish needs to see just how his actions and his nature had changed her ways as much as he changed his own. The dark side of Mrs Lovett drew him in more than anything, he found it dangerous, mysterious, intriguing. Then, on the complete other spectrum of the scale was her soft side, the side that loved him unconditionally. Every night they spent together she would say that she loved him, he though, was not yet ready to say the same back to her. The soft side also brought out a whole new side to Sweeney himself, he always thought that he'd lost his ability to be happy, to be loving when he was shipped off to Australia, spending a gruelling 15 years in the country and then when he came home to find out that Lucy had poisoned herself because of that damned Judge and that his daughter was now under said Judges guardianship. All those events led him to believe that he could never grasp the human emotion again, yet here he was, experiencing happiness, amusement and love of sorts to Mrs Lovett. It scared him, as much as he was unwilling to admit it.

Mrs Lovett was having the same experiences herself. She had been in love with Sweeney before he became Sweeney, before he was falsely accused and even before he married Lucy. She had vaguely known Benjamin Barker, a kind, honourable barber. Always looking out for the people of London, always being such a gentleman to every lady he met, including herself. She had begun to get close to him when Lucy came along, like an angel sent from heaven, he used to say. She remembered with bitterness how slowly Benjamin forgot she existed and had eyes only for his yellow haired angel but it never stopped Nellie from loving him. When he came back, he was different, he wasn't that kind, honourable man anymore, he was Sweeney Todd, the demon barber of Fleet Street and she loved it. She loved it, him, more then she had ever loved Benjamin. His passion, even for revenge overpowered her and she became what she was, his assistant, his companion, the only one who would never betray him. Yet, now she was seeing aspects of Benjamin in him. Sometimes, when they made love, his tenderness would shine through. That's what she loved most about him, the ability he had to have such different and unique personalities in different situations.

The couple had been going strong for a few days now, spending each night in each other's arms. Giving the occasional wink around the store, a small smile here and there, a peck on the lips when no one was in the room. It was a bittersweet romance, and neither of them would have suspected it to be so. And neither of them had really thought about how such a romance would affect anyone else living in the quarters, which of course was only Lucy. Lucy knew that Sweeney's heart had lied somewhere else even when she had first come back, as herself, not as the mad woman that Bedlam had turned her into. Sweeney too had made love to Lucy in their early weeks, only it wasn't like what it used to be. She had missed him and she knew that he missed her, after all he did kill the Judge to avenge her "death". But each night he had a vacant look in his eyes, as if not completely there, or, imagining something or someone else. Lucy didn't care to question it, she was just happy to be back and Sweeney was just happy to think he still loved her. But 15 years changes a lot of things, love especially, no matter how true and how deep.

Sweeney decided with great caution to approach Lucy and just talk to her about his feelings, even though he hated it. She deserved at least that much from him, after the way he acted and the way he ditched her. He was sitting in his shop, twiddling with one of the razors, thinking of how to approach the situation. And as if fate Lucy slowly walked up the stairs. He had been on her mind for a long time, especially as he was now with Mrs Lovett. She knocked on the door before opening it and stepping into the shop attentively.

"Lucy…" Sweeney said, standing and quickly putting the razor in his belt.

"Hello… Mr Todd. I have seen that you and Nellie have worked out something" she whispered, not wanting to sound too forward but then again she was so nervous she had no idea how to put what she was saying.

"Yes. Mrs Lovett and I are now, seeing each other if you will." He said with a curt nod, "I actually wanted to speak to you about that exact thing, Lucy"

"I thought you might" she said, sitting on the large chest by the door.

"I wanted to apologise, for the way I just, ditched you when Mrs Lovett was taken away. It was wrong and I am sorry" he said quickly, he hated apologies. They had never been his strong point.

"Oh, that's okay… I knew it would happen sooner or later but then after I saw the… the Judge and I went… mad again" she muttered fiddling with the hem of her dress, "I knew it would happen even sooner…"

"I know… But I want you to know that I will never not love you, Lucy. You were my first love, but times have changed… Things are no longer the same, we are no longer the same people" he said.

"Yes, this I know also. I loved you also, but you're heart, since I have been here has belonged to Nellie. I can tell, I do know you well enough to know that. And she has loved you for longer then you could imagine" Lucy said, now strong and the strength in which she spoke not only surprised Sweeney but also surprised herself.

"That she has, she's told me herself. I only wish I hadn't used you… You don't deserve that after everything that has happened"

"You never used me, Mr Todd! You thought you loved me, but you were mistaken. I do not regret anything that has happened here and neither should you" the confidence in Lucy's voice continued to build and it convinced Sweeney most assuring that she was correct.

"Of course, you're right… No regrets." He said with a nod, "I hope you wish to stay here"

"Yes, I do. I have nowhere else to go and Nellie is a good friend. And you, are an old one" Lucy said gently, walking up to Sweeney and placing a kiss on his cheek, "Thank you for everything you have done though, and thank you for loving me"

He smiled softly and looked at her, his eyes gentle, "No, thank _you, _for staying"

Lucy gave him a smile then walked to the door, "I best get back downstairs, Nellie wants me to learn the ways of making meat pies"

Sweeney couldn't help but let out a laugh, "Of course she would… Good luck"

"You too" Lucy replied, clearly not referring to the art of pie making but rather to his future with Nellie. Sweeney smiled to himself. That talk had gone much better then he thought it would and he felt a feeling of relief wash over him, knowing that Lucy and himself could now completely move on with their lives. That there were no hard feelings left behind. He felt that he actually had a chance of falling completely in love with Nellie now, more than ever and he knew he would.

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